Trailers (Monsters Inc.)

What really makes the opening title of this film unique and different is how the type of narration and sound affects used, are in real, rather 'spooky' but at the same time the color composition and dialogue set up is on the brighter, less scary and more positive side and manages to balance out the theme of the movie and in the first scene we can analyse that the movie is likely to have children feel comfortable watching it.

Opening Titles (Armageddon)

In the renown world of science fiction, 'Armageddon' needs no introductions. Upon receiving criticism over its unrealistic plot, Armageddon was underrated  by a lot of critics and charts, however it managed to secure the best movie award of 1998 and is in the top 100 movies of the 3000+ movies of the decade 1990-99. Unlike the other opening titles posted, Armageddon does not disclose any characters in the beginning, instead its starts off like a documentary. The introduction is some what dull as a meteor hits the earth as a re-enactment of what happened to the dinosaurs. Camera angles and shots have been taken in such a way that they show all or part of the earth's crust upon impact with the meteor. Since it's all animated, such shots are easier to accomplish. The non-digetic music is camouflaged behind the narrators voice as he dictates the scenario alongside its events. Dull or not, the movie itself was a beautiful blend of action, suspense, thrills and romance and also holds the unbroken record of most popular exclusive soundtrack 'I don't wanna miss a thing' by 'Aerosmith'. 

Opening Titles (Iron Man 2)

The recent blockbuster 'Iron Man 2' starring Robert Downey Junior became the Super Hero movie of the year 2010, as it re-enforced Marvel's dominance in the Super Hero Fictions category. Far more action packed and dynamic from the last two titles posted, Iron man 2 features Tony Stark in the opening, sky-diving in his astounding Iron Man outfit to a high-tech representation. The fast moving shots and thrilling animations make it a jaw dropping sight for any viewer. Impeccable editing and the non-digetic music injects adrenaline into the audience who are often found on the edge of their seats anxiously waiting for the next shot. There isn't much to be said about the magnificence of this action packed thriller as it distinguishes its class itself.

Opening Titles (The Lion King)

The most selling animated movie and the titan that shattered all existing Billboard records, 'The Lion King', released in 1994 and instantly became a classic. Every child grows up  watching Walt Disney Production's countless masterpieces, but few live up to the challenge like 'The Lion King' has. The movie initiates in a Savannah in Africa, alongside the brilliance of, Elton John, Tim Price and Carmen Twillie's, Lion King exclusive soundtrack 'The Circle Of Life'. The non-digetic music strongly uplifts the stir of emotions, the environment and the theme of the scene with its ethnic similarity. Africa's rich heritage is exhibited throughout the opening titles with the help of countless camera angles and flawless editing.

Opening Titles (Dexter)

  Who doesn't love this show? Dexter has been the leading T.V serial in the crime fiction category since the day it hit the market, its unusual story line and vivid screen play makes it one of the best there is. However, the opening titles of Dexter are some what simple and a lot less dynamic compared to most serials of today. The director has found a way of making them unique with the use extreme close up shots and the application of focus on nearby and distant objects. The non-digetic music compliments the simplicity of the camera angles and shots and gives a hint of curiosity as Dexter begins his day.

MEDIA INSTITUTIONS :

A media text is made by a particular media institution and this will also affect the way that it is constructed and the meaning it communicates. It can also affect the audience's expectations for instance a new release from a well known star will immediately establish expectations in an audience than a new release by an unknown star.

MEDIA REPRESENTATION :

All media texts will be representations of reality. You will need to be able to identify what representation of place , people, time etc are being represented in the text and how these are employed to create an image.

MEDIA AUDIENCES :

Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience. And you need to be aware of ways that audiences can be categorized and how the makeup of the target audience affects media language in the text.

MEDIA LANGUAGE :

You need to be able to understand how different techniques are used to create meaning and how technical features can convey a sense of characters or themes and you can do this in more depth by using specific forms of analysis such as semiotic analysis.

Now that i am done with my first preliminary video i have come to know more about how to shoot a film and ever since then i have been noticing every camera shot in whatever i watch on television. It was a lot of fun making this film. There were moments when i had to sit on a waccuum cleaner and make my friend push me. However, editing took very long and now that I've seen my film i think I've done well so far, although the lighting, i feel slightly got out of hands. Also, i ended up breaking the one-eighty degree rule without even realizing and when i showed the film to my teacher and my friends they instantly noticed. One more thing that i analysed after watching the video on the computer, the constant movement of my hand while holding the camera was a lot more obvious than it was on the camera. Since it was my first time editing, i feel my audio was not good enough and due to that my film did not have a very strong impact. Another huge mistake that i made while shooting the video was that i used the camera vertically for certain shots but when i started editing it became extremely difficult for me to rotate the shot and then i had to shoot the film all over again the next day and shoot every scene horizontally in order to get the editing right. So far i loved playing around with the camera and doing shots that i have studied about just recently. However, i found the editing a little difficult and i am glad i did it because taking up the challenge gave me a feeling of confidence and next time it wont be this hard for me.

Preliminary Video

Preliminary Video (Raw Footage)

  
      Our first actual Media Practical project was to make a short movie of two people exchanging a dialogue, editing is still in process but I think some of the raw footage should be uploaded. Since it was my first, I doubt it is prefect, however, I tried to show as many camera angles as I could, some shots went well, others got a little messed up cause of the extra amount of light. 

KEY MEDIA CONCEPTS :

1.Media language.
2.Audience
3.Representation
4.Institution
5.Ideology (the idiology of a media text relates to values and attitudes used within the text. These might be explicit or implicit but under printing all aspects of construction). 

SPECIALS:

1.Reverse Shot: from one person to another.
2.Two Shot: when two people are shown at once in one frame, expresses their relationship.
3.Insert: when a different shot occurs immediately after another shot.
4.Bird's eye view.
5.High and Low angles.
6.Over the shoulder shot.
7.Match on action: when there is a continuity of a scene after editing.
8.One eighty degree rule: when two cameras are locted within one side of the one eighty degree line.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS:

A Textual Analysis is a study of what a scene or film has taken in accont according to the study of media and camera use. It involves the observation on, firstly, "camera angles", in which we are to judge how and what type of camera angles and methods have been used throughout the film while portraying a paticular scene and what impact they caused. Secondly, "representation" is very important. We have to analyse how well the story or issue in the scene has been represented. The third most important thing is the "editing" of the film. A good edting makes a good film and it is a must to observe in what perfection has the editing taken place and whether it is covers all the possible flaws. This also involves the sound affects used in the film and the right use of these are what cause the major impact on the audience and while completing a textual analysis the observation of the usage of sound is very important. Lastly, a special analysis is to be done on "mise-in-sene" that covers the colour, the clothing, the props, the environment and everything that is visible on the screne that provides th basic idea of the scene. Other than these things, camera movements throughout the film should be given attention as well as the composition of the film itself.

THINGS LEARNT: Media Studies- Theory Notes

Camera Angles:
1. ESTABLISHING SHOT: usually the first shot takien from a distance that provides the location and main impression. It is very important.
2. LONG SHOT: covers a long distance to create an image while describing a scene. Gains interest of the audience.
3.MIDSHOT: covers half of the object ( half of the actor's body).
4. CLOSE-UP: covers the person's entire face (rest of the body, object is not shown). Used to show the person's expression.
5. EXTREME CLOSE-UP: covers only one feature to show the person's feeling.
6. EXTREME LONG-SHOT: covers a scene from a very long distance giving a strong image.